Unknowns and What Ifs
by bugintheforest
Summary: Just a little musing of what happened after all was said and one. My need for another...something! to fill the void. :) J/S mainly, with everyone else (plus some). Oh...and an original character. Comments, critiques, etc welcome! :) *Now in chapter format... sorry...still trying to figure things out. :)
1. Prologue

Prologue

Colonel John Sheppard stood on the platform, somewhat surprised to find himself gazing at the blue pool in front of him in wonder. Even after all this time, after the number of trips he'd taken through the gate, he still found it a fascinating sight.

"Any time you're ready, Rodney," he calmly quipped into his headset's microphone. Sure, it was peaceful standing and staring at the gate. But this little mission was just a quick recon, and he wanted to get it over with sooner rather than later.

"Give me a minute, will you. Don't know why you need me anyway. Simple trip…doesn't need two…" Something that didn't surprise Sheppard – his ability to still block out his friend when he whined.

"Yeah, yeah McKay. Come on. Sooner we get going, the sooner we get back. And then I can start my vaca –". The familiar _plop_ of someone coming through the event horizon had vacation thoughts quickly vanishing as Sheppard wheeled back around to face the gate. What had been an empty platform now was not so empty. The gun came up on an automatic impulse.

The young girl now standing in front of the blue puddle seemed innocuous enough – black BDU blouse over a white thermal, jeans, sneakers, her hair pulled back in two neat braids, sunglasses perched on top.

Harmless. Except…

"Wow. Don't I feel silly. You know, I didn't think it was possible. I mean – the buttons are so big." She was miming dialing a DHD as she continued, "It really shouldn't be that easy. But…" She paused again and seemed, well, embarrassed as she looked up at Sheppard. "I think I actually managed to misdial!"

It was at this point she realized the gun.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Honest! It was an accident!" She raised her hands just as the gate shut down.

"Sheppard! What's going on? Come on, I wasn't that slow!" McKay came up next to the colonel, surveying the scene. "Who's she?"

"Don't know," Sheppard replied, still trying to wrap his head around what just happened. "She came through the gate."

"The… But… We dialed out."

"Yup."

"So…what? She walked…"

"In. She walked in an out-going wormhole." Sheppard finally turned to look at McKay, glad to see him just as confused as he was.

Well…okay…probably not _as_ confused.


	2. Chapter 1

"Uh…sorry to interrupt. But, that's impossible."

Both the men turned to look at the girl standing before them.

"Exactly," stated McKay. He turned to glare accusingly at Sheppard. "What did you do?"

Sheppard did a double take between the two before turning to McKay, shock on his face.

"What did I do?! What the hell McKay? You dialed the damn gate! You sent the MALP through! What else could I possibly _do_ from this platform while you ran off to your lab for – for – whatever?!"

"Well, there's no way she could have walked through without our gate being shut down and redialed from somewhere else."

"I know that," Sheppard retorted, glaring down at his scientist friend. _Always have to explain, don't'cha McKay. Always gotta be the smart guy._

McKay simply glared back, as if he knew exactly what Sheppard was thinking.

"Ahem…" The quiet noise broke up the staring contest as both men again turned to the girl.

"Sorry. Again. I don't understand any more than you guys. But it really was an accident. I didn't mean to end up here. Heck, I don't even know where here is! So…if we could just open this puppy back up, I'm more than willing to get out of your hair." She threw in a grin for emphasis, but it quickly faded as the security team finally filed up and around the platform to investigate. "Seriously!" she continued, hands flying back up, "it was a mistake! Took a right instead of a left. Coulda happened to anyone."

* * *

Security had escorted her out of the gateroom, protesting the whole way.

"Come on! Anywhere. Drop me anywhere! – viable! Anywhere VIABLE! I'll make my own way home. Promise! 'N I won't come back. Don't see how I could, since I don't know how I got here… But really! You'll never see me again!"

McKay triple-checked the gate systems, trying to figure out how – no, not how – what happened. Because there was simply no way for this…this…girl! to have walked into Atlantis through an outgoing wormhole.

Absolutely. No. Way.

Even when the systems diagnostic says the wormhole was definitely connected the whole time. And was definitely outgoing.

No. Way.

He triple-checked some more.

* * *

Sheppard stood looking into the room currently being used as secure isolation. "The girl" was pacing the room, mumbling under her breath. She paused in the center of the room and turned to look in the mirror.

"Ellie."

Sheppard focused more into the room, to look at her looking at – him. She wasn't looking at the mirror.

She was looking through it.

"What?"

"My name is Ellie," she said with a sad smirk. "No offense, but _the girl_ doesn't really suit me."

_Now how the heck…_

"Where am I? What is this place anyway?" She had sat herself in the chair finally, arms crossed across her chest, looking at him curiously.

"Atlantis. You're on Atlantis," Sheppard replied through the microphone, just as Richard Woolsey walked in behind him.

"Do you really think that's wise, Colonel?"

Sheppard released the intercom button and turned to look over his shoulder as Woolsey stepped closer.

"Honestly? Yeah. I mean, we searched her. She's got nothing outwardly dangerous on her. Zalenka is doing his thing with the toys she had and Dr. Keller is working on the med screening. Telling her where she is can't hurt – either she knows or she doesn't. Not much of a difference."

He looked back at Ellie. She wasn't looking into the outside room as blatantly, but he knew, somehow, she heard everything they were saying. The look on her face was an odd mixture of concentration and sorrowful contemplation. Somehow, the knowledge of where she was had thrown her. And that just made Sheppard believe her even more. He reached over and hit the intercom switch again.

"Ellie, do you know anything about Atlantis?"

"Stories. Ancient race. Knowledgeable folks." She smirked that sad little grin again as she looked up at him. "I was supposed to visit once. A long-short time ago…" Again, that look of sorrow crossed her face.

That was enough confirmation for Sheppard – this girl wasn't here to hurt them. It looked like the city had, somehow, hurt her.

Woolsey reached over and flipped the switch, getting ready for some tirade or another. Sheppard was given a temporary reprieve as Doctor Keller walked in, looking slightly flustered.

"So…we ran everything we could think of. She's got no diseases, no bombs, nothing harmful or dangerous…" She drifted off, absently playing with the file folder in her arms.

"Doc…?" Sheppard gave her a curious look, watching as she blinked from him to Woolsey's stoic face and back.

"She's got the ATA gene. Strong. As strong, if not more so, than you or even General O'Neill."

"Okay…" Sure, it was odd to get a random person walking through the gate with the ATA gene, but not unheard of. The Ancients were still a hot topic, with a complete history still being worked out. Who knew how far they stretched in the universe.

Somehow, Sheppard didn't think that's what was bothering their doctor.

"Come on Doc. What else? Where's the bad news?"

Jennifer looked at him with a look that attempted to cover her obvious discomfort with amusement.

"It's…not exactly…bad…per se…" And with that cryptic note, she opened the file she held and showed both men the results inside.

Sheppard reeled.

"Oh no. Not bad at all." He looked over to Woolsey, who suddenly appeared a bit green around the edges. "We're gonna have to call SGC." _And by we…I completely mean you._


	3. Chapter 2

A day to sleep in. Sam was relishing the simple joy of not having to move from her comfortable place under the covers. It wasn't a long weekend, so the covers were on a bed in Colorado Springs.

So, not a complete vacation. But still…

She rolled over, intending to hide from the rays creeping through the blinds in the arms of her husband, only to find a mass of fur instead.

"Well, Bongo, you're not the man I expected, but I'll take ya." A grunt from over the Labrador told her someone was in the process of being evicted from the bed.

A gentle shove of the dog proved it. Bongo reluctantly relinquished his "monkey-in-the-middle" position for the end of the bed as his parents found each other's arms and closed the gap.

"You're supposed to be sleeping, General," came the rough, mumbled morning greeting in her hair.

Sam grinned to herself, cuddling closer.

"I don't believe that was a stipulation in this agreement. I was ordered to bed. Sleep was not a condition." She rose up on her elbow to look him in the eyes, and finished with a sarcastic "Sir".

His head buried in the pillow, he still managed to press a finger to her lips.

"Retired, Carter. Don't you _Sir_ me." Jack finally turned to look up at her, and was most assuredly on the start of a beauty of a mock scolding when the phone rang.

Sam instinctively wheeled around to the nightstand on her side of the bed to reach for her cell. Her hand, however, grasped nothing but air just as the ringing cut off.

"Walter, the general is taking the weekend off. Tell whatever bad guy banging on the gate to skedaddle." Jack deftly deflected Sam's attempts at grabbing the phone as he continued. "What does Woolsey want now?"

Sam stopped grabbing for the phone and instead gave Jack a quizzical look. _Woolsey? What _could_ he want? Everything had been rather peaceful on Atlantis the last time we checked in._ Practically dull, if she remembered correctly. John was virtually climbing the walls, and she had to insist he take time and come earth-side for a bit.

"What?!" Jack had sat up abruptly, startling her out of her thoughts. The look on his face was one she hadn't seen in awhile – and was hoping she'd never have to see again. He looked…concerned. Not gentle concern, or loving concern. This was "world-ending, butts-need-kicking" concern. A look solely owned by Jack O'Neill.

"Did she double check? Triple check?" He waved Sam off as she silently asked for information. "No, no. Alright. We'll both be in shortly."

As he hung up the phone, Sam again glared at him quizzically.

"Both?" As much as she knew Jack loved and missed the world of SGC, he had fully committed himself to his retirement. Now, suddenly, he was Lieutenant General O'Neill again.

Whatever that phone call was about, it could not be good.

* * *

The news had been passed to the SGC and the gate shut down as Sheppard walked back towards the room where Ellie was still sitting. Woolsey had decided the best move was to transfer the girl to Earth, letting SGC handle, well, whatever needed to be handled.

Sheppard figured he just wanted her off his hands. The suited, bespectacled man just wanted to keep Atlantis quiet. Calm. No trouble. And if that meant passing trouble off to big brother, so be it.

General Carter was notified and most likely on her way to base, if not already there.

_Both generals, most likely._ Retired he may be, but Sheppard knew that former-General O'Neill would want to know what exactly Woolsey was dumping on his wife's front step.

Lost in thought, John was startled to suddenly find himself in a darkened hallway. He looked around, just about to reach up and call to the command center when the lights flicked back on. As he continued down the short distance left to Ellie's room, the lights flicked off and on again. And again. And the door to the room, as well as two others next to and across from it, slid partially open and slammed close. He nearly got clipped as he managed to slip into the room.

Inside, Ellie was frantically pacing the room, round and round the table. She seemed to be talking to herself as she went, in quiet hushed tones. As John came completely in the room, everything stopped, including her. The door stood halfway open, lights fluttering hesitantly. Ellie stood in front of him, gnawing on a knuckle.

"Um…everything…ok…?" John asked as he looked back to the door and then to her.

"How should I know? I'm just a…visitor…" Ellie replied, as hesitant as the flickering lights, her hands now deep in the pockets of her pants. Her eyes were on him, but would waver around to look behind him and around the room.

"Yeah. Okay. Look, I know this is all, well… I mean, we know you're not- Well, I know you're not –" He wasn't sure exactly what he was trying to say, he just felt like he needed to reassure her, or calm her, or…something. _I mean, I don't want to be the guy who made…_

Yeah. That thought wasn't going to get him anywhere. A thought that was, somehow, confirmed by the shuddering of the lights.

He looked back up at her, but was saved from saying anything by a blaring voice in his ear.

"Sheppard! Where are you? What's going on?!"

"Rodney! There's no need to scream. I'm with Ellie in the…in her room. Where are you?"

"I'm up at the command center. There's power fluctuations happening across the city. And we just lost gate control. It's completely down."

John looked back up to Ellie. She was definitely nervous, but more so scared. Practically shaking and on the verge of…tears?

"Ellie…?"

"I shouldn't go there. I shouldn't be here." She paused, again looking around frantically, like she was looking for an escape. "Something's just not…right."

He walked over to her and gently touched her arm, trying to direct her out of the room and down the hall. Rarely did he enjoy agreeing with Woolsey when the man made purely selfish decisions, but on this instance…

_Damn. We need to get her out of here._

He looked over at her as they made their way to the gate room in the flickering lights.

_Please don't cry… It's bad enough as it is, but if you cry…_

"Sheppard?! Where are you?!"

"It's alright Rodney. We're making our way to the gate room now." He gently squeezed the young girl's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm gonna go with you. It'll be okay."

Ellie just stared resolutely down the hall.

"Don't know how you plan on going anywhere with –" McKay was cut off by the unmistakable sound of the gate dialing.

"McKay…?"

"The controls are still down. We can't do anything!"

"Security teams to the gate room, now!" John barked into the radio as he propelled Ellie faster into the room. They stopped just inside the doors as the security team took up position around the platform.

As the final chevron locked and the wormhole established, the lights blinked off and left the gate room awash with nothing but the glittering blue of the event horizon.

Just as quickly as it went off, everything came on in a rush of activity.

"It's going out," McKay called from the control deck. The colonel and the scientist looked at each other, matching looks of astonishment on their faces. "We – rather, it, dialed out. It's connected to Earth. SGC is verifying receipt of our IDC and are standing by."

"I think you're right Colonel Sheppard." John looked down at the quiet whisper and found Ellie staring blankly at the gate. She turned to look up at him. "I think it's better if I leave."

And with that, she collapsed into his arms, revealing a shocked Doctor Keller behind her, empty syringe in her hand.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_It would be today. This day of all days._

Jack was lost in thought as he and Sam drove in silence to the base. He had briefly given her all the information Walter had given him as they quickly dressed and hurried out the door. And he'd hated ever second of it.

_A simple weekend. Just a quiet weekend. That was all I asked for her. Was that really too much?_

She had been working hard. Nowhere near the long hours either one of them had pulled as SG-1 members, but still… It seemed the quiet was just as difficult as the threats of unknown (or even known) enemies. Jack leaving the Pentagon seemed to have given DC its nerve back. They'd begun their hounding about the program's worth, or lack-thereof, just over a year ago. And the longer Earth went unthreatened, the louder they got.

Sam, of course, handled it like a pro. And he was proud of all she'd managed as the commander of the SGC. It had been tough, no doubt about it. She'd had to cut back on teams, equipment – heck, even the jello took a hit. But she managed it all calmly, elegantly even. The folks she'd had to let go left solemnly, but understood beyond a shadow of doubt it was okay. If they had to leave to ensure the program would continue, they'd leave.

_A lot better than I would have handled it._ He glanced over at her with a small smile, which quickly faded at the look on her face.

She sat, image of calm. But Jack knew the gears were spinning. And he hated it.

He knew exactly where her mind was, mostly because his mind had ventured to the same destination a number of times since he hung up the phone.

She was in the land of "what ifs".

And he hated it.

_Time to figure out what's going on._

* * *

Getting into the base was the same as it had always been, minus the looks of shock.

_It hasn't been that long has it?_ Jack couldn't help thinking to himself. Doing the backstroke through his memories, he couldn't put a finger on the last time he had been there. _Must've been a lunch or something._

He had a fleeting flash of a party – _That was it._ The last time he'd been here was on his way to the party for Rya'c's son's first birthday. _How long ago was that…?_

"It's been a few months," Sam offered as they made their way down in the elevator.

Jack looked over at her and gave her a smirk. She returned it briefly. They had always been able to read each other so well, it seemed like second nature.

"Jack…what if…" The smile faded as she attempted to voice her thoughts.

"Let's just find out what's going on, k?" He didn't want to have to burst the bubble she was fervently growing, but… "Look," he continued, turning her to face him, hands grasped on either shoulder, "I don't want to be the bad guy here…but…"

She curled into his arms, her own still wrapped around her chest.

"I know. We've had nastier enemies attempt nastier tricks. It just… It just makes me think… That's all."

"I know…" There really wasn't much more they could say. Or more they needed to say.

The doors opened on good ole level 28 to reveal a rather impatient archaeologist pacing the hallway.

"Sam… Jack!"

"Daniel…" Jack reluctantly released his grip on Sam, so she could assume general-mode, while glaring curiously at his erstwhile friend. "Thought you were off somewhere playing with rocks."

"Got back late last night," Daniel responded, rolling his eyes at Jack's familiar banter. He missed it, but not much… "Cam filled me in at breakfast."

"Has Sheppard arrived yet?" Sam asked as they made their way down the hall.

"Yeah, just a bit ago. He's with Cam in the briefing room." He glanced sidelong at his friends, gauging. "The…girl is in isolation. Still out."

"Out?"

"Yeah. Apparently Woolsey ordered her sedated."

"I thought she wasn't a threat? Since when do we sedate kids?" came the expected O'Neill response as they entered the briefing room.

"I promise you, Sir. That was solely Woolsey's call," Sheppard offered, greeting Sam with a head nod and a "Ma'am".

"Sheppard…"

"Sorry s–… force of habit." The men shook hands. "You were still a general last time I saw you. How's retirement treating you?

"Peachy, until today. Stop trying to change the subject."

"I called back to Atlantis once Sheppard arrived," Mitchell said as everyone instinctively took seats around the table. "He insisted it was duly called for. He felt Atlantis was being threatened.

"So he drugged her and threw her through the gate to us?" Daniel returned. "How sweet."

"There was no threat." Attention turned to Sheppard, who had remained standing beside the window looking down to the gate room. "At least not to us."

"What then?" Sam queried.

"I don't know what it was, but I think Ellie was just…scared." John looked confused, like he was still trying to organize everything that had happened.

"John." He looked up at Sam as she continued. "What happened?"

"Atlantis went on the fritz. Power fluctuations, lights mostly. Just flickering and flashing. The gate controls went offline, but that was the worst that happened." He looked around the table, as if trying to get them to understand. "McKay checked – the shield, all the defenses were still up and running. And when she dialed the gate – if she did dial it – she dialed here. It was like…" He faltered again, not sure how much further he dared go.

"John?" Again, Sam gently nudged him to continue. When he did, he looked directly at her.

"It was like a scared kid. A scared, lost girl calling home."

The room went quiet as everyone contemplated the one factor that had yet been brought up. The silence continued until Doctor Lam walked in.

"Um…she's awake," she announced hesitantly.

"Carolyn," Sam called after her as the doctor was headed back down the stairs. She turned and walked directly to Sam, handing her the folder she carried somewhat begrudgingly.

"I'm sorry Sam… I can't explain it. I've checked. Various samples. Triple checked and verified."

Sam glanced over the test results, not really trusting herself to read them. She looked up at Jack as she handed them to him.

He looked over the scientific data, reading the random test results. He was sure they were all important, but there was one in particular he was looking for. And there it was, at the bottom of page three…

DNA RESULTS – DNA MATCH TO: LT GEN. JONATHAN O'NEILL (RETIRED), BRIG. GEN. SAMANTAHA CARTER

Nasty tricks there had been, Jack knew. But even mobsters stopped at kids.


	5. Chapter 4

Sam stood in the observation desk, looking down into the isolation room. The sole inhabitant of that room had sat down in one of only two chairs, conveniently with her back facing the windows. Atlantis had taken off the oversized BDU blouse; it was balled up on a table behind Sam. Dr. Lee was taking his turn at the gadgets Atlantis turned over as well.

Looking down, all Sam saw was the braids down the young girl's back. Her hair was a light brown, but blonde highlights were there throughout.

_Just like Jack's in the summer, _Sam couldn't help but think. _You couldn't ever tell, when he'd been out in the sun, whether it was brown or blonde._

That was as far as she could let herself go with comparisons. It was almost a relief that the girl had sat looking away.

_The girl. Geez Sam, she has a name. Get a hold of yourself._

In the room, Ellie tilted her head slightly, almost as if she were going to turn and look up at the windows. Sam instinctively flinched – she wasn't sure if she wanted to see that face.

Not yet, anyway.

She could still remember Jack's face that day, even after the years that had passed. It was one of those rare instances when he let his usually hidden intellect out to shine. And shine it did, even though the subject itself was dismal.

_I just can't help but think, _he'd said. _What if everything we've been through has…I don't know…changed us. I mean, you have to admit; we've been through some crazy stuff._

She'd laughed, until she realized he was seriously concerned. He still rarely ever talked about Charlie; but she knew it was still with him, would always be with him. The thought of losing a child was one she wouldn't wish on anyone, and she greatly wished she could take that pain from him.

But now, he was talking about their children – the what-if possibilities. Sam admitted the thought had crossed her mind, but the SGC had always gone above and beyond ensuring their health. Janet had been an absolute stickler, and Carolyn was fully dedicated to follow that path.

Yet, he was still worried. He couldn't explain it to her, not exactly. It seemed to her that he couldn't even explain it to himself. But he was headed to DC, she to Nevada. It was just the beginning for them – a natural time for concerns to peek out. She insisted they had time.

No sense worrying over what hasn't happened.

Whatever will be, will be.

_Etcetera, etcetera, blah blah blah…_

What would be ended up being an inability. Leave it to the most routine medical exam she'd undergone in the last decade to be the one with the worst results.

A gentle touch on her shoulder shook Sam out of her thoughts.

"Okay?" Jack gently asked, the subtle concern on his face crystal clear to her.

"Yeah. Daniel ready?"

"He's heading in now." Jack motioned down to the room as Daniel walked in, Mitchell and Sheppard filing into the observation room at the same time.

* * *

Daniel was hesitant walking into the room, his objections still ringing in his ears. He could understand why he got the job of talking to this girl, of course. But he didn't think it would help his friends.

_Never thought Jack O'Neill would turn down a chance to face a problem like this head on._

A problem like this. Well, that was his answer. If it was any other problem, he might not be the one down here.

But…it wasn't.

He walked in, still not sure what he was expecting to see when he eventually looked at her face.

When he did finally look at her though, all expectations were thrown out the window.

_DNA tests say a lot. But that says everything._

The resolute, on the verge of stubborn, look on her face practically screamed Jack O'Neill. But for Daniel, the thing that clinched it was the eyes.

Those bright blue eyes were the same as those he'd seen countless times – whether full of unbridled curiosity or tears of sadness. Those were Sam Carter's eyes.

He glanced up at his friends looking down on him, and hoped the startled expression he caught in his reflection was less ridiculous in reality.

The returning look he got from Jack said it wasn't.

_Damn. He's pissed…_ Duly so, of course. And Daniel knew it wasn't for Jack's own sake. He was upset because this was going to upset Sam.

_Damn. Whelp…_

"Hi."

She peered at him from the corner of her eye, following him as he made his way to stand behind the other chair, not moving her head an inch.

"Hi."

"So…you know, you should be sitting here," he began lamely, patting the chair back.

She glowered up at him for a moment and then raised her hand to point up at the corner of the room, again, not moving her head.

He turned to look and found one of the security cameras, then turned back to her, more shock threatening to cross his face.

_She doesn't want to see them. And she's giving them the choice to see her or not._ He glanced up to see Jack give an almost imperceptible nod to either him or Cam. Or both. Cam reached over to, presumably, turn on the monitor connected to the cameras. While he and Sheppard looked momentarily at the screen, Sam and Jack just continued staring down at Daniel.

"Okay…" Daniel finally said, giving up on any continued inevitably failed attempts at making this easy. He sat in the chair, hands out on the table. "I'm Daniel. You're Ellie, right?"

She blinked over at him, almost like she was studying him. A subtle shift in her eyes said she was giving up on preconceived notions as well.

"I know who you are, Dr Jackson."

"Please, call me Daniel."

"No. Thank you."

_Huh. That's a first…_

"Alright. You're choice, I suppose…" He paused, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We're not going to hurt you. You're safe." He looked up at the short snort of amusement that came from across the table.

"Tell that to the weasel who had me drugged."

"Weasel? Woolsey?"

"Weasel – Woolsey – whatever." The amusement left her face as quickly as it had come.

"No, no. Weasel works. It's…fitting…" He was starting to see what had Colonel Sheppard shook up about this girl. He felt like he had to reassure her, calm her, not matter how hard she tried to throw it back. Just like he would…with his own child.

His mind flashed to Vala and Jon, most likely at home enjoying the lazy weekend. He thought of Jon's third birthday at the park. Jon had fallen off the swing and Jack had run over to dust him off and quell the tears. Just as any great friend would do.

_Damn!_

"Okay… Let's start with… I'm guessing you know where you are." She looked at him, obviously restraining an eye roll. "Right. Course you do. You dialed the gate." Pause again, trying to get a reaction. Not so much as a blink. "Right…well…you told Colonel Sheppard you don't know how you got to Atlantis. So…"

Blink. Blink.

_Hey Jack, found a way she's _not_ like you._ Apparently this was going to be a very one sided conversation.

"Look, we can't figure out how to help you if you don't talk."

Blink. Blink.

"Ellie. I meant what I said. We're not going to hurt you. Forget weas– Woolsey, alright. Sam's in charge here. I'm guessing you might know her, right?" He waved his hand up towards the observation windows.

Her head flickered to the side, like she was going to turn and look, but stopped herself.

"I know" was all she offered, looking down at her hands. When she looked back up at him, Daniel saw the quickest flash of utter sadness cross her eyes before she returned to her stand-by stoicism. "I would give you the answers if I could. But…I don't know all of them. Not yet…"

"Okay…" He pushed away from the table to stand. He paused, looking down at her, blue eyes staring off at images he didn't want to imagine. As much as he knew his friends were hoping he could get them answers, Daniel suddenly realized he didn't want to know.

He was scared. Scared of what the answers might be. What they might mean.

He headed for the door when she quietly called to him. He stopped, but couldn't bring himself to turn around.

"I'm sure they're still fiddling with everything I had with me, but… Could I get my jacket back? The black one I was wearing?"

"I'll see where it is," he responded, turning his head toward her and speaking over his shoulder. He still didn't look at her, but instead gave a glance toward the windows as he walked out.

Before he was completely out the door, he saw Sam as she had been the whole time, staring at the back of Ellie's head like she could read her mind.

And Jack was right beside her, not looking into the room. Not looking at Daniel. He was staring at the monitor.

And Ellie was staring right back.


	6. Chapter 5

"I'm sorry, Sam. I'll go back and talk to her. I just…I just need a minute." Daniel joined them up in the observation room as Mitchell left to check in with a returning team. Sam and Sheppard were leaning against the back table; Jack still stood staring at the monitor, the black shirt having made its way to his hand. He and Ellie no longer stared at each other, but Daniel couldn't help think there was still some sort of communication going on there.

"What are you thinking Daniel?" Sam asked. Her voice was full professional mode, but deceived by the concern written across her face as she looked not at Daniel, but at Jack.

She saw what Daniel saw.

"Honestly…the only conclusion I can come up with is, well, a future timeline. It's the only way I can explain it. I mean, I know I wasn't in there long, but…I mean…she's…well…look at her." He waved an arm at the windows, vice the monitor.

"We see her Daniel" came the quiet confirmation from Jack.

"I have to agree with Jackson," offered Sheppard. "But…she didn't know Atlantis. She didn't know any of us. I mean, not to sound selfish or anything, but your kid? She would've definitely grown up around all this, right?" He waved his hand, encompassing all that the room was.

"Not necessarily," Sam returned. "Who knows if it's this timeline's future or another one entirely. She may come from a timeline where I'm not a general, in command of SGC. Or maybe it's a timeline where we didn't discover Atlantis. There's thousands – millions of possible timelines she could be from."

Daniel couldn't help but smile. _Good ole analytical Sam_. He knew it was her way of handling the seemingly unmanageable. In this instance, in particular, her rationalizing was most likely an attempt to distance herself. He couldn't imagine what she was thinking – being told you can't have kids and then have one walk through the gate.

"Why don't we find out, huh?" Both Daniel and Sam turned to find Jack had finally looked away from the monitor. He was holding the black shirt loosely in one hand, the other tucked in a pants' pocket.

"Uh…yeah…sure…" Daniel went to move towards the stairs, but was stopped by Jack's hand.

"I got it, Daniel." He gave a nod to both gentlemen and a quick smirk to Sam before walking down the stairs.

"This oughta be good," Daniel quietly quipped as Sam and Sheppard joined him at the window.

* * *

_Don't like it. Not one bit._

Jack slowly made his way down the stairs, pausing just past them in the hallway. He pulled his hand out of his pocket to look again, the dog tags quietly jingling on their chain.

_Not. One. Bit._

Daniel's theory was a decent one. He almost believed it himself. Until he'd picked up the blouse and felt the tags in one of the top pockets. The blouse was bad enough – it was his, no doubt about it. All the patches had been carefully pulled off, but there was his name, written on the inside label, in pen. Like some green airman.

But then there were the tags. One his, one Sam's. Military issue. Genuine article. Right down to the small indent in his from when he'd got it caught in his locker.

_Could've been caused by anything…_ he tried to convince himself. _Simply a coincidence…_ Nope. That dent he remembered. It made it look like his dog tag was winking, with that goofy gap-toothed grin at the end.

_See Jack! You turn it like this, on the side. He's winking!_

_Sure kid. Sure. Whatever you say._

Jack shook his head, trying to knock the memory loose. It wasn't that it was a bad memory – him grinning, little blonde mop-top of a thing sitting in his lap, showing him his dog tag and trying to convince him it matched her toothy grin.

Great memory. Just…for the life of him…he couldn't remember having it before he picked up that shirt.

He made his way to the room, waving off the SFs standing guard. As he walked in, the first thing he saw was two feet swinging beneath the table.

"What happened to your shoes?"

She looked up, startled; then peered down at her socked feet.

"Good question. Not quite sure… I was sedated you know. Rather unduly."

"Right. The weasel. I heard." He walked over and handed her the shirt.

Her eyes followed him, just like she did with Daniel.

"Thanks," she quietly said, slipping the shirt on and re-rolling the sleeves. Three-quarters up.

Once the sleeves were situated, she went to reach for the pocket before she noticed the tags on the table. She looked up at him, where he still stood next to the table.

"Found these. But I don't think they're yours."

"What makes you say that?"

"Few things. But, mostly? The names on them. No 'Ellie' anywhere."

She continued to hold his gaze, but eventually turned to look back at the tags.

"They don't need them…not…not really."

_Answer number one._ He let the chain drop fully on the table and turned to the door.

"I'll see if I can't find some shoes. You think –? Ah, never mind. I'm sure we have something." He moved closer to the door as he heard the chain drag across the table.

"Yes."

That stopped him. He turned back to look at her quizzically.

"You were going to ask if I thought I'd fit in…General Carter's shoes." She put the chain around her neck and tucked the tags into her shirt before she continued. "Yes, they'd fit. The black ones. In her desk drawer."

_Answer number two…maybe…_

"Oh really? Read minds do you?"

"Not all of 'em. Just folks with the…what did she call it? The ATA gene?"

"Like me? 'N Colonel Sheppard?" He vaguely remembered some report or another talking about how the Ancients had telepathy or ways of communicating without talking. It was one of those theories that had never, thankfully, been put to the test.

Until now.

He continued to look in those blue eyes. _God, those eyes…_ He wasn't sure how to word what he wanted to say next. And, maybe, now he didn't have to.

Those blue eyes went sad.

_Nope. Don't have to say a word._

"You really want me to say it?" she asked hesitantly. "You sure you really want to know?"

He just continued to hold her gaze.

"You were right. About all of it."

_Bingo. Unfortunately…_ He turned again towards the door.

"It wouldn't have changed anything," she offered. He turned his head over his shoulder, stopping but not turning back. "The decision was out of your hands before you even knew there was a decision to be made."

That had him turning back.

He found her gaze again, still tinged with sadness; but now, colored dark with anger as well.

Two answers gained, and more questions added.

"I can't say I know all of it… I don't think anyone does." She looked away again, unsure.

"How about what you do know."

"The Unknown are behind it. …most likely."

"Right… Got anything more…definite?"

She looked back at him, still sad angry eyes. It seemed like she was afraid. Not necessarily of the information. No, more like what saying it out loud would mean.

"The Unknown are the last of the four great races. They abhor humans; want nothing to do with them. Would really prefer not to have to deal with not dealing with them."

"Hold up. 'The Unknown'? Never heard of 'em, and we've met all those guys. Well…except the furry ones."

"The Furlings are a front. Kinda like the Jaffa for the Goa'uld."

"Okay…so they're so enthralled with themselves and hating humans, they use cute teddy bears to take their appointments. Great. Easy. Where are these guys? We'll dial 'em up and kick their butts."

She laughed, seemingly despite herself; but then she was all seriousness again.

"You've eradicated the Goa'uld, made nice with the Nox, even impressed the Asgard. But the Unknown are a different entity. They deal in subtlety. They've hidden themselves away for so long, no one knows what they are anymore. There are a few Asgard who have faint memories, which is where we have gotten the little bit of information we have, but –" she stopped short, looking shocked.

"Asgard, you say?" Jack was doing his best to not appear shocked as well. "Yeah…they're all gone, the Asgard. Thelma-and-Louised it a while back…"

"Um…yeah…not exactly…" Where she had been a bounding chatty-Kathy a minute ago, she suddenly appeared abashed. It was almost as if she felt like she'd said too much.

Which just told Jack that there was still more.

"Uh huh. Well?" He looked at her expectantly.

She looked around herself frantically, like a squirrel with a nut, avoiding his gaze as much as possible.

Jack turned up the gaze. He'd started at polite query, edging impatience. Now – full on O'Neill-demand.

She hadn't really stood a chance.

"The explosion was a diversion. And a catalyst. The Asgard knew what was coming, they'd heard rumors, but with the Ori gaining strength, they figured it was only a matter of time. And it was their last chance to save their own race."

She paused to look up at him. He had backed down the gaze, but not completely. He just…waited.

"They split the timeline, forced another into existence, centered off one event." She paused again as Jack's eyes started glazing over. Both of them took a moment to stare at each other before turning as one to stare up at the windows above them.

"Okay. Let's say we move this party."


	7. Chapter 6

When they both looked up at the room where she stood, Sam couldn't help but flinch. She had seen Ellie, of course, through the monitor. But her and Jack side-by-side…

It shocked her, to say the least.

The pair of them had walked out, Jack sending an SF to come tell her they moved to her lab. Well, _the_ lab. Technically it hadn't been her's for a long while.

Sam insisted Sheppard take his leave, knowing the colonel would want to know what was going on just as much as the rest of them. But he understood her desire to limit the audience, and thanked her. She, in turn, promised to fill him in on his way back through.

Her and Daniel were making their way down to the lab when he finally spoke up.

"Do you know what they were talking about? About Jack being right? What was he right about?"

She gave him a small smile, surprised it had taken him this long to ask. She figured he was simply waiting for them to be alone. As much as everyone in the Stargate command was a family; SG-1 – the initial SG-1 – was even closer to being a family, in the truest sense.

And this was quickly becoming a family issue.

"Sam?" He looked at her curiously.

"Sorry. Jack had brought it up a few years ago. He was…concerned about possible problems… repercussions of our time travelling through the gate."

"Repercussions?" He sounded dubious, and even slightly amused. Just like she had been.

"Lasting effects from everything that's happened to us. Goa'uld implantation, ancient viruses, Ancient repository-head-sucking, computer viruses, nano-tech. He was worried that somehow, after everything, there might have been some inperceptable change that didn't really affect us, at least not noticeably. But maybe something that could affect our children. If we had any…"

She dropped off, looking over at Daniel. His face grew solemn as, she knew, he started thinking of all his past experiences. And what effect it may have had – or may yet have – on his son. She stopped short to stand in front of him, stopping him with a hand on either shoulder.

"Daniel…"

"How did I not think of that? How could we have –"

"Daniel, don't. I did the same thing. I couldn't imagine… But I'll tell you the same thing I told Jack. We have always had the best possible medical care here. Janet…and Carolyn – they've all gone above and beyond to make sure we were okay."

"Yeah, but Sam…come on! Think of everything –"

"And while they can't know everything, they have done their best. Whatever else may happen, we can handle because of that." She looked at him earnestly, willing him to believe her; and was rewarded as he relaxed under her grip.

"Yeah…yeah, of course. It's just…" He looked solemnly at her again. "She said he was right, Sam."

Sam blinked back sudden tears, not wanting to think what that truly meant. But, as she and Daniel continued down the hallway, she found a tiny spark of hope.

"She did. And maybe we can find out exactly what that means."

_And please god, let it not be that terrible…_

Of course, knowing their luck, Sam couldn't help but think it was an empty plea.

* * *

Sam's old lab had become Bill Lee's new playground. Of course, Jack had no qualms about kicking the scientist out. And Dr Lee had equally no qualms leaving, dissection of Ellie's belongings scattered across the table.

The young girl walked up to them; the closer she got, the farther her jaw dropped.

"What did they do?!" she quietly squeaked as she picked up a few pieces.

"They were just trying to see what made 'em tick. Or…something…" Jack remained at the door, watching as Sam and Daniel made their way down the hall.

"What'd they use, the screwdriver and hammer method?!"

He turned to find her delicately trying (and, apparently, failing) to put the pieces back together.

He wasn't quite sure how she would do it through the tears that were suddenly threatening to spill over.

"What is it, anyway?" he quietly asked, trying to distract her with what would hopefully be a ramble of techno-babble.

_Works with Carter, anyway._

"This," she said waving at a pile of random bits, "is – was a watch. Fancy one at that. We'd managed to get it to track local time of anywhere you are, no matter what planet. Basically, it takes environmental readings of your surroundings. Then, it computes the day/night cycle. And it was dual-time, so you could have local and Earth time side-by-side."

_Easy as pie._ Jack was slightly proud that the plan worked. Almost. Still some glistening. _Next gizmo it is._

"And this?" pointing to the bits she was holding.

"This…" Tears started reappearing, one trickling down her cheek.

_Oh crap. Mission failing. Abort! Abort!_

"This is – …was…pictures. Mom – my mom said it reminded her of the key chains you could get at amusement parks. You look in one end, and a lens would magnify an image inside. This was the same principle, just using crystal-tech for more than one picture."

She was trying to fit the pieces back together, but her hands were shaking.

"I'm sure you could fix it. Easy," Jack said encouragingly, floundering with every tear.

"Yeah, piece of cake. Except…" She turned the small object on its side and a heavy dust trickled out. "Crystal's busted."

"So…we get anoth – " he stopped himself, but not soon enough. He hadn't figured out yet where, exactly, she was from; or even if she could get back. And…what "back" involved. If his hunch was right…well…

"Even if I could get home… There's no replacing these. Everything's gone…" She tossed the little piece aside and started piecing together the watch. "Everyone…"

Jack wanted to say something – anything! – but was saved the task of thinking exactly what that something would be by Sam and Daniel walking in, followed by Mitchell.

"Sheppard said you'd move the get-together. Whoa!" He startled when he saw Ellie sitting at the lab table fiddling with pieces. He leaned over to whisper in Sam's ear, "That entirely wise, there, General?"

"It's alright Cam," Sam returned, glancing up at Jack to confirm it really was okay. He nodded, looking a bit more dismal than just a few moments ago. She silently signaled her concern and just got a shack of the head in response.

"Alright, Ellie. The smart kids are here," Jack quipped as he snagged a stool. She gave him a look Sam had given him more times than he could count – a look that said he wasn't fooling anyone. _Uh huh…sure…_ "You were talking about exploding Asgard splitting things."

"Do I need to explain the general idea of timelines and alternate realities?" Three no's and a groan was the response. "Okay…the Asgard felt that there was more to the Ori then what was seen. Or, rather, not seen." She continued fiddling with pieces as she talked. "I think its the fact that the Ori were so un-seen, it must have clicked with the Asgard."

"The Ori are these Unknown, you mean?" Daniel queried.

"Seemed more likely than not. Like I said, as far as any one knows, they hate humans. They'd live a peaceful happy existence without 'em."

"But becoming gods? Some almighty power for humans to worship?" Daniel whipped off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he tried to piece the puzzle together. "I mean, that doesn't really fit. You hate something, why would you want that something fawning all over you?"

Ellie stopped her fiddling to look up at him.

"I said they worked subtly; behind the scenes, working to eliminate the human race. What better way than with religion? Can't get more subtle than that."

To that, Daniel had no response. It was yet another variety of what they had all bore witness to each time they stepped through the gate.

"Not to, um, appear rude or anything," Jack said, "but…what's that have to do with, well…us." He motioned to himself and Sam.

"Oh my god." Jack wheeled in his chair to stare at Sam, who seemed to have come to the conclusion on her own.

"Sam…?" he gently asked. She just stared at Ellie, almost afraid to speak.

Afraid, but angry.

"I believe Thor once told you you were the next step in human evolution, right?" Ellie broke her gaze with Sam to look at Jack. At his look of annoyed confusion, she continued, "If you want to cut a line, it's easiest to cut it at the beginning."

And now he was pissed. He still wasn't quite sure why, or how, he was pissed. But he was.

"I still don't see the connection with the Asgard…" Daniel spoke up, trying to get everything out, so they could deal with the whole rather than pieces.

"The Asgard had been tracking whatever movements they could of the Unknown, trying to determine exactly what they were after. They were going across timelines, into dozens – hundreds – of alternate realities. The Asgard followed, but couldn't see what they were doing. Again – subtle. So tiny and seemingly insignificant." She paused, seeming to steady herself. "It wasn't until the Asgard caught Loki, when he was creating your clone. When they realized your potential, they went back. No matter what the circumstances were, in any of the realities, they maneuvered it to ensure it stopped at you. Whether it meant you never married, or got divorced, or…other results…either way – no children. None beyond –" she stopped short to look up at him again. "None beyond Charlie."

The silence rang around the lab as they all took in what had been said.

"That's…well…wrong." Mitchell was the first to break the silence. "I mean…wow."

"It's a quick fix," Ellie continued. "It obviously won't stop humans all together. They seemed to just want to stop the progress… But they don't get it! I mean, their goal was to stop human potential. They don't realize all humans have potential. It's not their genes, its what they choose to do with their lives on the whole." She seemed to collapse into the stool, energy spent from more than just the last couple of days.

"So…these Unknown…" Jack wanted to ask – had to ask. For Sam's sake more than his own. The words just wouldn't come.

"It doesn't seem like they've been here…yet… I think that was part of the Asgard's plan. Splitting the timeline would throw off anyone coming to look – you hit a timeline and run into empty space, because that one is now two…"

"But, you said the decision…"

"I said the Unknown were most likely behind it, but not directly. The Asgard took the decision out of your hands when they split the timeline. They needed a starting point, a point in the timeline that would result in another reality being created. So…they made one…"

"But why that? What good could come…" Sam drifted off as she slowly came to understand all the implications. She looked at Ellie, who just nodded. "Oh crap," she finished as she winced in Jack's direction.

"What?"

"Um…Jack…" Daniel cautioned.

_Ugh! Why am I always the last to figure this stuff out._

"What?!"

Daniel looked at Sam, who just shook her head. Looked like it would be up to him…

"Do you remember why Loki was so intent on, well, using you for his little…theory?" When Jack just glared at him, Daniel continued. "You were a step closer to the Asgard being able to fix their cloning issues."

"Yeah…but they ran out of time," added Mitchell. "That's why they gave us all their tech and blew up, right?"

"That was plan B," Ellie said. "Plan A involved creating the altered timeline. Doing so meant they could, essentially, hide both timelines from the Unknown, while they continued work in the alternate one."

"While playing mad scientist with me and my wife!" Jack hopped off his stool and began pacing behind the table, cursing "lil grey bastards" under his breath.

"No mad scientist necessary." She watched him pace, slowing down as he realized what she meant. "All the pieces were there already. That's why it's this timeline that got split. This is the only one where everything fits together."

Jack leaned over the table to glare at her.

"It's still not right."

"I know!" He jumped back at the anger in her voice. "You don't think I have my own reasons to hate them? I was barely 4 years old when they took me from my parents. Shoved in a time dilation field for three years, and popped out the other side at 25. I should be 7 right now, worried about 2nd grade and monkey bars…" She paused, shaking her head like she was trying to shake out thoughts. "They took my life. But, in turn, they gave me life."

Jack continued leaning over the table, but his glare changed to abashed sadness. As he looked into her eyes, it was if he could see everything she'd had to go through.

Alone.

Because he knew, without her having to say it – they had let her go.

She stared back at him, knowledge written all over her face.

"I could talk before I was 1. Full sentences, soliloquies even. Only problem was, it was all in Ancient." She looked down at the partially re-formed watch in her hands. "It scared them. I could tell. So…I stopped talking. By 2, the headaches started. Later, small seizures. It was too much, everything I had in my head – all the Ancients' knowledge, plus all my parents'… They worked so hard to find a way…" She looked back up at him, a pleading look on her face.

She wanted to be forgiven for being what…who she was.

"The field would allow her body to develop along with the knowledge," Sam sniffled, forcing herself to focus on the science. "It would be gradual, just like it was for you, Jack. Slowly at first, picking up speed the more it developed. A time dilation field can be controlled, to an extent. You can manipulate how fast or how slow it moves."

"The variations made it harder to find, as well." Ellie looked back and forth between them, her voice heavy with an attempt at reassurance. "No one came in once it closed. We couldn't risk the Unknown finding…"

"And the Asgard? They get their magic cure?" Jack asked quietly.

"Magic, indeed," Ellie laughed. "You wouldn't think dead nanites could evolve, but they did. And that was the magic trick the Asgard needed."

"Nanites? You have nanites?" Sam asked excitedly. "Naturally occurring nanites?!"

Jack laughed quietly to himself, the smile growing at the smirk he got from Ellie.

_Smart kid._

But the excitement slowly faded as alarms sounded and Sergeant Harriman's voice echoed out of the speakers.

"General Carter to the command center. General Carter to the command center."


	8. Chapter 7

Mitchell made his way out the door after a nod from Sam, who was making her own way to a phone.

"This is General Carter." She paused as information came down the line, her jaw dropping. "What?! No…no, we'll be right up." She made a quick glance at Ellie as she hung up the phone before turning to Jack and Daniel. "Apparently, two Asgard just beamed into the conference room."

The looks she got from the two men were what she expected – shock and confusion, just like her own. But the look of confusion on Ellie's face had her backtracking.

"You seem surprised…"

The girl shook her head and looked up at Sam.

"Well, to be honest…I mean, I still don't know how I got here. If this really is the reality I think it is, it would be easy to slip from one to another – they are that close, that similar. But doing it unwillingly – unknowingly – that's a bit harder. And no one would know, technically. I mean, it's not like I've told anyone."

Sam puzzled over it, but decided it would be simpler to just walk upstairs and ask.

The small party made their way to the briefing room, Jack and Ellie lingering back – the odd men out, so to speak. Any concerns about the girl seemed to vanish after the information she gave them settled in their minds, mixed with the latest surprise arrivals.

As they reached the top of the winding staircase, Sam could see Mitchell standing on alert at the closest end of the table facing, what was undoubtedly, two Asgard, their large black eyes blinking in the direction of the newcomers.

"General Carter. Dr Jackson," one of them greeted, nodding.

"And General O'Neill, an honor indeed," the second added, looking shocked – or, at least, as shocked as an Asgard could look.

Sam was full of mixed emotions; the shock and confusion mixing with joy at realizing her friends were alive and well, and saddness that Thor was not with them.

That was, until, she heard the fearful whisper behind her.

"Those aren't Asgard…" Ellie quietly spoke, just loud enough for her, Jack, and Daniel to hear.

Sam started to turn her head back towards Ellie and Jack, as Jack asked her what she meant.

"They aren't Asgard!" the girl insisted, Sam watching as she wrapped her arm around Jack's and urgently pulled.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the first Asgard raise a hand, something indistinguishable wrapped in fingers that seemed transparent. Their black eyes widened to an impossible size as a flash of light blinded them and both Asgard – or, whatever they were – disappeared.

And as the flash died away and her sight returned, Sam turned to find Jack and Ellie crumpled on the floor, unconscious.

_Definitely not Asgard._

* * *

_Definitely _NOT_ Asgard_.

Jack clutched his head, trying to blink out the blinding light.

_What the hell was that?!_

He rolled up to his knees, then thought better of it and simply sat. Slowly, his vision cleared to reveal –

_Toto…where'd Kansas go?_

He was no longer at the SGC. As he continued to survey his surroundings, memories clicked into place.

He was no longer on Earth.

He was…

"What the hell?!" he shouted, jumping to his feet and frantically looking around the oddly shaped cell. As he wheeled around, he suddenly realized he wasn't alone.

Ellie was laying a short distance from him, eyes shut. He ran over, bending down to wake her. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking. As she looked around, taking in their surroundings, she turned back to look at him with hesitantly fearful eyes.

"Where are we?"

"What are you asking me for?!" Jack shot back, defensively, his mind on overdrive.

_Not here. Not her. Not here and not her!_ He never imagined he'd ever see the place again, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone else get caught here, either.

_Thought the bastard was dead! I saw him die! Mitchell assured us…he was the last. This place was supposed to be crumbling ruins!_

He looked back down and saw what he was sure was his own fear being reflected back at him.

_Not her. Not here._

"Mr O'Neill…? Mr O'Neill…?" She was searching his face, trying to find…something. Something other than the fear growing stronger. "Jack!"

That got his attention. Although…it wasn't that she called him by his first name. There was something more in the way she said it…

_Not her. Not here!_

The fear grew.

"This is it, isn't it? This is where you came…" she mumbled, looking at him. She looked around, frantically trying to figure out what to do.

"I don't know… I don't know how to get you out… I couldn't stop them…him…" Jack was desperately racking his brain for any bit of information he thought could help, but he kept coming back to the same image.

_That laughing face. The glow of the sarcophagus, over and over. Drops of acid falling closer and closer, burning and burning. The slap across his face – _

The slap across his face?

Jack's eyes flew open to find Ellie standing in front of him, concern and fear fighting for dominance on her face.

"Did you just…slap me?"

She grinned slightly back at him before returning to the business of severe concentration.

"You were… Look. This isn't real. I need you to realize that so we…can…" she drifted off as she watched his gaze shift to the opening of the room. Two Jaffa stood, waiting. When she looked back, she realized she'd lost him again.

She looked around her, trying to find something she could use, something she could convince him with. But there was nothing. Everything seemed exactly as it should be.

Even though she knew none of it should.

Jack yanked her behind him as the Jaffa took a step into the room. One step and pause. Another step. Pause.

It was as if they were gauging his reaction.

Ellie looked between their seemingly blank stares and Jack's determined one.

There looked like only one thing to do. And she wasn't sure how Jack would take it…

"Of course, you'll be asleep for most of it…so…" she whispered to herself before swinging back to stand between him and the Jaffa. He tried to pull her back behind him, but she fought off his grip. "Sorry Jack."

He looked down at her as she placed a hand on either side of his head. As she closed her eyes, a numbing calm radiated through his mind. He knew where they were, what could happen to them, but he suddenly wasn't afraid.

It was as if every thought, every memory he had of this place no longer had an effect on him.

He slowly sunk down to the floor, suddenly exhausted.

And as he drifted off to sleep, he had the strangest feeling he was watching himself walk out the door with two Jaffa.


	9. Chapter 8

Ellie looked back at Jack as she let the Jaffa escort her from the room. She smirked to herself at the sleepy confusion on his face and tried to imagine how odd it would look, watching yourself walk away.

Of course, that just gave her proof that her little ruse was working.

_If they want Jack O'Neill, they'll get Jack O'Neill._ Calming his fears took a lot of effort; tapping into healing skills she rarely had a need to use. But manipulating the surroundings to appear as Jack…well that was surprisingly easy.

_Doesn't completely explain what's going on…yet._ But this way, she could get information.

And no one would get hurt.

_Hopefully…_

The trio made their way through the building, walls and hallways blinking and fading as they walked past. She was sure the original trip took longer, but this wasn't real.

Apparently whoever was in charge of the charade was in a hurry.

Upon reaching the apparent destination, she was thrown back onto a wall, secured there by some sort of gravitational force. She got a moment to look around as the Jaffa left, before the supposed ringleader walked in. And as Ellie got a look at him, she had to stop herself from laughing out loud.

_As much as I hate to think it, please let there be more than this…schmuck. This can't be what he's afraid of…_

The man that stood before her was…well…posh. That's the only word she could come up with. But it fit. He had an overpowering air of arrogance, the utmost belief that he was awesome and he wanted everyone to know it.

And the look on his face said he was going to enjoy every second of what was to come.

But this wasn't Ellie's memory. It was Jack's. So she could see the cracks, see the hesitations of the players. She could see how everything flicked and flashed, like an old film reel.

The memory played on, all the action happening in a haze, as she remained pinned to the wall, her host standing in front of her smiling his cocky smile.

She saw the knives flying towards her, felt the faint echoes of pain they brought with them. Then the acid, every drop singeing through. She watched as Jack was pulled down and put in the glowing box, over and over – now dead, now alive.

She watched, but didn't react. She couldn't. But something told her Jack wouldn't have either.

Not if it was really him on that wall.

But, if it were someone else going through this torture…

The man's smile disappeared as he realized the charade was not going as planned. He walked behind the table, consulting a screen or monitor of some sort. He began clicking away at some sort of control panel. As he clicked, the playback of memories shifted. It was now on some sort of fast paced cycle, cycling through what appeared to be a lifetime's worth of memories.

Specifically – bad memories.

All she could see was a blur of motion, random sounds breaking through.

A gunshot. A woman screaming.

Crying. Pleading.

Urges to hold on. Don't let go.

They ran together, a jumble of thoughts and emotion. For even a casual observer, it was almost too much.

Ellie blinked, trying to clear her sight, the sudden silence ringing in her ears. She looked up, again, at the man to find him glaring angrily at the screen – all macho-suprematism vanished. He found her gaze, eyes burning with frustration.

"These are not memories from you."

It was a statement, not a question. She felt it better to say nothing.

"Your mind…it's not here." He looked back and forth between her and his screen, growing more confused and frustrated by the minute. "You do not exist! What is this?!"

_Ah! A question._

Ellie managed to hop down gently from the wall and approached the man. She grinned to see him take a hesitant step back.

"This? This is what I like to call taking advantage of a situation. A little information gathering." She looked down at the control center to see a random system of knobs and dials, the screen showing a flow of data. "So this is your dirty little secret? Trap them in a terrible memory and what? Interrogate? Probe?"

The man seemed to be slowly gaining his nerve back, regaining the step he had taken. He seemed to have gotten some reassuring news from his little console, which was now quietly beeping.

"No concern for you. We will adapt. You may have managed to cross the timeline, but you cannot hide your mind forever."

Ellie grinned as she slowly faded back to her own appearance.

"Who's hiding? You want memories? I'll give you loads."

* * *

The panic from the unexpected arrival – and rapid departure – of the two not-so-Asgard visitors was finally calming down as Daniel walked into the infirmary. Sam was where he'd last seen her, still sitting at Jack's side. Ellie was on a bed further down.

Carolyn had checked both of them in the briefing room, and then after they had been brought down. She assured them that both Jack and Ellie were fine – aside from the fact that they were unconscious. It wasn't a coma or concussion or anything worrisome.

They simply seemed to have fallen asleep.

That's all she could tell them – they were dreaming, deep asleep.

The real problem was that she couldn't wake them. And she didn't know why.

"Hey Sam," Daniel said quietly, resting a hand on her shoulder. She patted it, never taking her eyes off Jack. "No change?"

"No. Nothing. He's just…asleep. Ellie has been moving a bit, her EEG readings have been fluctuating on and off. But Jack…he's just…asleep. Peaceful." She smiled at him. "Must be a nice dream."

The smile faded. Daniel was right there with her – _Nice dream or not, wake the hell up Jack!_

"Cam has another set of guys going through the base, just in case. Doesn't look like there's any sign of our…visitors."

The monitor connected to Ellie flashed and beeped as her brain activity spiked again. Daniel peered over and found her eyes fluttering rapidly. A nurse came over to inject something into her IV, but it didn't seem to make a difference. She shook her head as she walked back to make a note in the chart.

"They keep trying to give her something to slow down the activity. So she doesn't burn out," Sam offered, casting a passing glance of concern over at the girl. "It doesn't seem to work. Her body just kicks it out."

"Could something happen? I mean, we don't even know what happened to knock them out."

"I guess it would depend on what the activity was," Sam replied, turning back to look at Jack. "I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"Sam…" Daniel knew she didn't want to consider the girl as anything more than a stranger come through the gate. But this…

"No, Daniel, I don't mean it like that," she said, noting the disapproving tone in her friend's voice. "I mean I honestly think whatever she's doing, she's doing on purpose. That's why she's rejecting the sedatives." She looked up at Daniel to find him still looking unconvinced. "She knew they weren't Asgard."

That got him.

"You think…? You think they were these…Unknowns?"

"I think whatever let Ellie through to us knocked out whatever defenses were keeping the two realities hidden. So, yes, I think the Unknown finally found us."

* * *

Mitchell paced the control room gazing every so often down to the gate. As many times as he had marveled at it, found it incredible and awe-inspiring, there were almost as many times that he found himself cursing it.

This particular instance was the latter.

As the final search team called in the all clear, he quietly cursed under his breath.

_Where the hell'd they go?!_

He rogered up over the radio, setting up random patrols and standing down the search teams. He made a general announcement over the PA system to have everyone stay alert.

"Alright Walter. Keep your eyes peeled. I'm gonna swing down to the infirmary, check up on the general." He patted the sergeant on the back and had a foot poised over the first step when the alarm sounded.

"Uh…Colonel…"

Mitchell swung back around.

"Go ahead Walter. Say it."

"Unscheduled off-world activation," Walter calmly reported through his microphone, iris closing shut in front of him.

The control room was quiet, calmly awaiting the wormhole to engage. Cam watched as the security team made their way to positions along the ramp.

Finally, the whoosh of sound connected. He turned to look down at the monitor, silently ticking through the teams currently off world.

The IDC that finally popped did not belong to any of them.

It was SG-1.

Walter turned to look at Mitchell, his questioning gaze looking for a command.

"Open it."

"Sir…?"

"Do it Walter." He walked over to the microphone and called to the gate room, "Security standby."

Walter looked like he was going to question again, but turned instead to open the iris.

He didn't know why he was so certain, but Cam knew it would be okay.

_Unless of course it's more formerly dead folks…_

No sooner was the thought complete when he got a clear look at the two individuals walking down the ramp.

He'd never met them while they were alive in this timeline, but he remembered them clearly from when they had walked through from another.

_Asgard are one thing. But Janet Fraiser and Martouf the Tok'ra…?_

Cam reached for the phone, quickly dialing.

"Get me General Carter."


	10. Chapter 9

The room shook, like an explosion rocked it from above.

The shaking isn't what woke Jack, though. It was the noise.

"What the hell is that racket?!" he shouted as he sat up and promptly hit his head on the bench attached to the wall behind him.

As he looked around the small room, he slowly realized where he was. Not curled up in his own bed, arms snug around his wife – like he was dreaming of. Nope. Back in his luxury suite in Ba'al's pleasure palace.

_Crap. Now how the hell…? Huh._ It suddenly dawned on him as he tried to figure everything out. He knew this place, no doubt about that. He remembered everything that had happened to him here, absolutely.

But he couldn't seem to…well…feel anything about it.

Sure, he remembered how he used to feel about it. But now…bupkis.

"Huh." He looked around the room again, noting the two Jaffa on guard at the door. "Well…still don't see a reason to hang out."

He slowly got up and crept to the door, as carefully, quietly, and painlessly as his knees would allow. He got right behind one guard, took a breath, and then swung around to punch him in the nose. As that guard went down, Jack grabbed his staff weapon and swung it, knocking out the other guard.

"Huh," he laughed, admiring his handiwork. "Yup. Still got it."

And then something else clicked in his head.

"Ellie."

He looked back in the small room before moving down the hall to find her. All the while pushing back thoughts of where she could be.

What the snaky bastard could be doing.

Fear was finally starting to inch its way in, but was quickly being conquered by anger.

_If he touches a single curl on that girl's head…_

He paused in the hallway. Curls? Last time he'd seen her, her hair was pulled back, braided. There weren't curls…

_Or I am thinking of the _other_ last time. She was headed into town to pick up dinner, her hair bouncing around her head…_

He saw the image clearly, but couldn't quite place it. Again, just like before, he couldn't understand why he was remembering something he was sure had never happened…

He shook away the thoughts, continuing down the hallway. As he neared a corner, he heard footsteps coming quickly towards him. He crouched down behind a pillar, as far as he could. As the footsteps reached him, he swung out with the staff weapon and connected with at least one kneecap, if not both.

"Jack?!" came the startled, pain ridden screech from his would-be assailant.

"Ellie!" He jumped to his feet and pulled her into his arms. "Thank god!" He released her, pushing her to arm's length so he could look her over. "You okay?!" he asked frantically, searching for telltale rips or burns.

"I'm…I'm fine," she responded hesitantly, giving him a questioning look. "Well, aside from the shattered kneecap."

"Sorry. Thought you were a goon." He continued to stare, his face moving from embarrassment to elated joy and relief. "Thought I lost you –" he stopped himself. _Again?_

They stared at each other quizzically as another explosion rocked the base.

"That'll be Yu…" Jack said, peering at the ceiling.

Ellie, in turn, peered back in the direction from where she'd come, but swung back to stare at Jack, startled.

"How'd you know?"

"Happened last time." He turned to find her looking confused. "Last time I was here, Lord Yu bombed the place. That's how I got out."

"Oh. Great. Well…let's go then."

"But how?"

"Well, like you did last time." She went to start down the hall, but Jack stopped her.

"This isn't real…right?"

"No," she reassured him. "It's just memories."

"You can't get_ out_ of a memory…" He was starting to falter again, looking at her fearfully.

Not fearing for himself, she realized that now.

He feared for her.

"We get out just like you did last time." She gripped his shoulders, trying to get him to focus. "Jack…it's just a trick. An illusion. You are in control of it. Think it through. Yu started attacking. You got out your cell. What next?" He blinked, still dazed. "Think Jack! What did you do next?"

Blink. Blink.

"The girl. I got the girl – Shallan."

"Girl? Nice…okay – girl." A flash and blur of Jack and a young pixie of a girl running through the hallway. "Check. What next?"

"We made our way out of the base, into the woods outside."

Another flash and they were there, surrounded by trees. They could just make out the blue glow of the stargate through the low branches.

Ellie turned to grin at him.

"See. Easy." She took his hand and pulled him towards the gate.

As they reached the platform and made their way up the stairs, Jack felt calm.

_It was easy._

"Huh."

But as he walked into the waiting wormhole, he couldn't help the gnawing feeling in the back of his head that he was missing something.

* * *

"Seriously guys. What's the problem?"

Sam heard the voice come through the speakers, routed up from the gate room, as she made her way into the command center. She knew what to expect from when Cam had called, knew even more when she heard Janet questioning the security team.

But she was still shocked when she peered through the window into the gate room and found Martouf looking back up at her.

Sure, she'd seen them before. Just like Cam, she remembered the incident involving fourteen different Carters parading around the SGC.

But it still stung. Hurt then. Hurt now.

It hurt more when she realized Martouf was looking at her just as shocked as she felt. He reached blindly over to get Janet's attention away from the security team. When she swung around to question him, he simply pointed up at Sam.

Janet caught her gaze and looked like she would collapse with shock. She gripped Martouf's arm to steady herself before making an attempt at barging through the guards to the door.

Sam decided to make her way to Janet instead. She practically marched into the gate room, ordering the guards to stand down. As soon as they backed off, Janet nearly leaped at her, dragging her into a fierce hug.

"Sam! Oh my god, Sam! I don't believe it!"

"Neither do I, to be honest." She couldn't help but return the hug, as well as the tears she knew were falling from her friend's eyes.

"Oh Sam…god I've missed you!" Janet sniffled, pushing back to arm's length, hands still clasped on Sam's forearms.

"Janet…" Martouf cautioned.

"Don't," she threw back. "I know. But, just for a few minutes, I'm not going to care."

Sam peered at her friend, seeing the joy and sadness crossing her face just as surely as she knew it was crossing her own.

Martouf seemed to relent, flashing Sam a sorrowful smile.

Sam hated to think she knew why they were so sad at the sight of her. But if her theory about Ellie was right, she was fairly certain where her two friends had come from.

_Well…there is a way to find out…_

"Not that it's not good to see you – both of you; but, any idea on how you got here? What were you doing?" She looked from Martouf to Janet, and suddenly regretted the question. Her friend looked ready to completely break down with regret.

"Oh Sam! I'm sorry! We don't know what happened. She just went out on a completely normal errand. Simple, easy trip. She'd done it dozens of times. But she always insisted on going alone. So stubborn! Just like her father." She was rambling, and Sam couldn't help but laugh.

The laugh died though as she realized her theory was proving to be more and more correct.

_Where that get's us though…_

But then, something else clicked.

"Oh. My. God. The last time you were here… I asked you…we asked where I was…and you said…you said…"

"You were on maternity leave." Janet smiled. The smile faded to a look of curiosity. "Sam…?"

"General!" Walter called down from the control room just as Sam opened her mouth to respond. She looked up and saw Carolyn waving down at her.

"Jack's awake."

Sam looked back to Janet and Martouf, momentarily flustered. She gave up trying to think.

"Come with me."


	11. Chapter 10

Jack noticed the beeping first. Annoying buzzing. Coming from the wrong side of the bed.

_That beeping doesn't belong to me… But it tells me I'm in the lovely infirmary… Great._ Retired, yet he still managed to make it to the infirmary. _This is probably why I stopped coming here…_

He blinked open his eyes just in time to see a hazy Sam come rushing in.

A hazy Sam, followed by a hazy – Fraiser and Martouf?

He immediately clamped his eyes shut.

"Jack? I thought you said he was awake? Jack? Please…"

_Well, I can't ignore that – imaginary or not._ He slowly blinked his eyes open again.

Sam. Blink. Daniel and Carolyn. Blink. Blink. Janet and Martouf.

Blink. Blink.

"Uh…Carter?"

"Jack! Hey! Welcome back!" Her super watt smile had him grinning at her.

But just momentarily. There was still the pesky issue of the dead people.

"Nice to be back. But…Carter…why do I see dead people?"

"Look who's talking!" Janet quipped back at him.

"They just came through the gate," Sam offered. "I'm thinking…well, I think they're from the same timeline as Ellie…"

"Ellie?! You know Ellie? She's here?" Janet asked frantically.

"I'm gonna guess she's the source of the beeping," Jack said, pointing to the other bed. "Hey, Ellie! Wake up! We have more guests."

He got nothing but beeps in response. Daniel peered over at her.

"She's still out, Jack," he said as Janet ran over to her.

"What? Nah. We both…left… at the same time…" He jumped up out of his bed to run over to her bed. "What's with the beeping?"

"It's an EEG. Her brain activity is off the charts." Janet glanced up at the monitor before turning back to Ellie, peering into each eye with a penlight. "You said you both left. Left where?"

"We were –" he stopped, hesitantly glancing at Sam before continuing. "She said we were in a memory. I, actually…I think I slept through most of it…to be honest…" He paused again, embarrassed this time. Then he collected himself. "But we both left. I'm sure of –"

And there it was again. That nagging feeling that he'd forgotten something.

_The two of them stood on the platform. He turned to walk through the gate. He could sense her behind him as he walked through…_

"Jack!"

He jumped, glancing across at Janet's shout.

"What?"

"I don't think that's a good idea." She motioned towards his hand, hovering over Ellie's. "We don't know what would happen."

"She's still in there," he quietly said; unsure where the thought came from, but just as sure it was true. "She's still there Janet. We have to do something!"

He tried not to picture Ellie in that place, pushing the thoughts aside to stare at Janet sternly. She gave a reluctant sigh Jack took as permission.

He grabbed Ellie's hand, not sure of what – if anything – would happen. He just knew he wasn't going to leave her alone.

_Not again. Not ever again._

And with that thought, everything flashed and he found himself standing in the living room of his cabin, staring at the most surreal image he'd ever thought he'd see.

There, lying on the floor, were him and Sam.

Dead.

* * *

It took him a moment to register what he was seeing; to remind himself it wasn't real.

It couldn't be real.

_I just saw her…_

"Jack…" That one word, whispered from a corner nearby.

But this time he heard it – it wasn't her calling his name.

She was calling "Dad". That's what he heard when she said his name.

The meaning was there, plan as day. It was the same meaning he put behind "Carter". It wasn't just a name. It was caring; love…everything you could put into a word. Not everyone could hear it, not every time. He knew Sam hadn't, not initially. Of course, it wasn't there every time.

But she eventually caught on. And he put it there more and more.

He turned and found Ellie huddled up against the wall on the other side of the room. He didn't think it was possible for her to look smaller or more fragile than she already appeared, but she did. It was as if she was folded in on herself.

With grief.

"I couldn't help it. I wanted to distract them…long enough to get away. But…I guess I got stuck…"

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. To Jack, it was worse than if she'd been bawling.

"It's okay. We'll get out. Not a problem." He walked over to kneel in front of her, laying a hand on her arm. "Come on. You just have to get up."

"Everyone else was already gone. Daniel, Vala, even Jon-Jack – freak accident on the way back down from the cabin, 4th of July. Teal'c – he went on a diplomatic mission for the Free Jaffa – never even found the ship. Cassie…Cassie got sick in the plague… Janet still cries… Everyone was leaving us… We couldn't understand why..." Her gaze was stuck fast on the two…the two in front of her. "I keep trying to figure out another way… Something I could have done…" Images started flickering around them, blurring by.

Jack could see himself, Sam, even Ellie. Different scenarios would play out, speeding by so fast he couldn't see what was happening. But they all seemed to end the same.

Him and Sam. On the floor. Dead.

Him and Sam. In the truck. Dead.

Him, Sam, and Ellie. On the floor. Dead.

Him, Sam, and Ellie. In the truck. Dead.

He shook his head and turned his focus solely on Ellie – the Ellie huddled in front of him. He grasped her chin and forced her eyes on him.

"Ellie…what happened?"

"I'd come back. Only been home about six months… We ordered Chinese. Special dinner, mom said. Celebrating nothing, she said." She giggled, a sad little laugh. "The restaurant called…said they were super busy. Needed the driver to help there. I offered to drive into town and pick it up… I mean… I was 7…sorta…and I could drive. Six months…still thought it was cool." She laughed again, a tear threatening to fall. Then she stopped, staring at the couple on the floor again.

"Ellie…" Jack whispered calmly, urging her on.

"I came home. Found them…there." She turned to look right at him, and he could see anger creeping in behind the tears. "I hadn't ever known what happened. 'Til today."

Everything flashed and they were suddenly in the corner of the main room of Ba'al's place. Jack flinched to see himself up on that wall. _That damn wall…_ But it wasn't him… It was her.

She had just made everyone think it was him.

"I didn't understand it, until he realized there was no fear. Not with me, anyway. Not here." He forced himself to look at her again as she continued. "That's what they do, see; they get in your head. Use your memories against you. Use your fears. When they realized this one wasn't working, they searched for another."

He could sense the flickering of images behind him, like a breeze on the back of his neck. But he didn't need to see them.

The sounds were enough.

"That's when I realized. It wasn't fear for yourself that threw you. It was fear for her."

They were back in the cabin, back with the couple on the floor. And Jack understood.

_Trapped in that place... Sam on that wall... Some way out - any way out._

"I keep trying to figure out someway…someway to change it…"

He gently caressed the side of her face, trying to soothe away her worries and regret.

"Ellie – you've seen all the outcomes. There's nothing you could have done. Not without joining them. And I know they wouldn't have wanted that."

"But…but now I'm all by myself again… Everyone's gone…" she quietly sniffled. It was suddenly easy for him to see that, while she may be older, she really only had lived a short time.

He didn't know what to do. There was nothing to escape from here. And running away probably wouldn't cut it. He didn't know what she'd done for him, how she'd taken the fear out of his memory of Ba'al's torture.

He tried to think of his own grief. How he had eventually learned to handle Charlie's loss. And, immediately, he pictured the two of them playing catch in the backyard.

Charlie's laugh as he watched Jack reach wide for the ball.

"Think of something else, Ellie. Think of a good time." He held her head in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Come on. Your old man's an…well, an old man. Remind me. What's your favorite memory?"

Hesitantly, their surroundings flickered.

"Come on Ellie. Show me. Tell me your favorite memory."

More flickering.

"Come on! It's easy. Just like you told me. Just think!"

In a flash, they were standing on the dock outside the cabin. At the end of the dock, Jack could see the back of his own capped head over top of the chair; curls on one side, fishing pole on the other.

"It was the day before… Mom was coming back from a trip. We were going to meet her at SGC, and then we were going to Atlantis." She paused as they walked up to the couple at the edge of the dock.

They stood next to the chair and Jack could see the whole image now. Again, he found it surreal watching himself. But this instance was at least better than the past ones.

Jack (the memory version) sat in his favorite chair, arms wrapped around the young girl in his lap. Her tiny hands were wrapped as far around the fishing pole as they would go, his overtop hers. The only sound was that of the reel as the line came back, followed by the quiet buzz as it was tossed back out and the _plop_ of the lure hitting the water.

Back and forth. Over and over.

"I was excited," Ellie continued quietly. "Mom was coming home, which was always great. And it was my birthday the next day. The magic 4. I never understood why, but 4 seemed to be just the right age. I was suddenly ready to go through the stargate." She laughed and Jack could remember her excitement.

"We were going to visit Daniel. Him, Vala, and little Jon…they were on Atlantis." He remembered how frustrated Daniel had been, but overjoyed at the same time – a casual trip to Atlantis had turned into an extended stay when Vala, who had insisted on coming, had gone into labor.

"Everybody was so excited about Jon-Jack. Couldn't wait to meet him…"

"I don't know why you call him that!" Jack laughed.

"The poor boy's name is Jonathan Jackson!" Ellie laughed back. "How could you not?"

"Still don't know where Daniel came up with that…"

Ellie smirked again.

"Lost a bet."

He laughed, watching as the pole went flying back over the water.

Back and forth. Over and over.

"What happened?" He knew he shouldn't have asked, knew it might keep them stuck in this…place longer.

But he had to know.

"I insisted on going by myself. Through the gate. So you insisted on treating it like a slide in the park. You went through first, to catch me on the other side…" She paused, quietly sighing to herself. "Mom was right behind me… I ran the last few steps, to make sure she didn't get too close…"

He remembered, just as other memories had suddenly come to him. He had been waiting in Atlantis; maybe ten minutes had passed, if that. He watched as Sam came through, laughing.

The laughter fading as she caught Jack's gaze.

There was no curly mop-top in sight.

"I never blamed them…you…" Ellie continued to watch the other figures on the dock, seemingly mesmerized by the line…

Back and forth.

"I was angry at first. I mean, it was my birthday. But Thor explained everything. And eventually I understood."

He was glad she understood. But that didn't mean he couldn't hate it.

Hate himself.

She turned and looked up at him, as if she knew what he was thinking.

_Probably does…_

She smirked.

_Yup…_

"I could have stayed here forever. Just casting out that line. Reeling it back in. The rest of the world didn't matter. All that mattered to me was that." She nodded at the couple in the chair. "Best day ever."

He held out his hand to her. She looked down at it, as if she was unsure. He didn't blame her – he could almost consider staying here himself.

But still…

She reached out hesitantly, finally taking his hand in hers.

And together, they walked away from sad memories, not looking back.


	12. Chapter 11

Jack blinked his eyes open, focusing on the room in front of him. He searched the room frantically, searching for Sam. As soon as he locked eyes with her, the images that threatened to overcome him evaporated.

She was alive. Everything was right with the world.

A small tug on his hand had him looking back to the bed.

_Well…almost…_

"Ellie…come on," Janet patiently said as she checked over the girl, her eyes still shut. "Come on now. Wake up."

Her eyes twitched and fluttered, the EEG still fervently beeping. Slowly, they fluttered open. As she worked to focus, she looked around at the faces peering down at her.

"Hey doc…" Her brow furrowed before she shot up in the bed, shocked. "Doc! What…what are you…how…?"

"Alright. Calm down, calm down," Janet soothed, eyeing the EEG warily.

Ellie caught her glance and quickly reached up to pull the monitor connectors off her head. Janet tried to stop her, but wasn't fast enough. As the machine quieted, Ellie filled the silence with her quiet mumblings.

"Daniel?" Jack queried as he slowly began to recognize the words rambling out.

"It's Ancient." At Jack's annoyed look, Daniel added, "She's talking too fast. I…I can't get anything specific. It's just… I can just pick out bits. Not enough…" He dropped off as he continued to concentrate.

"Danielle Grace," Janet quietly, yet sternly, said. Ellie stopped talking with a little _pop_ and turned to look at her sheepishly. "We've had this discussion before. You have to slow down." Ellie started to shake her head, on the verge of continuing her rambling; but Janet quieted her with a touch. "Slowly. One thought at a time. Concentrate."

Jack watched the exchange, thoughts running rampant in his own mind. Part of him, the part that inexplicably knew and remembered this girl, was grateful she had Janet there for her.

But then there was another part of him that, watching her struggle to simplify her thoughts, knew exactly how hard that task was. He couldn't remember everything from his two encounters with the Ancient repositories. But he could remember the lack of control – not being able to speak, not being able to understand why he was doing the things he felt compelled to do.

He glanced over at Sam; saw fear and concern written across her face as she watched Ellie struggle.

_Not being able to tell her it would be okay._

_Not being able to tell her how I felt…_

He knew. All too well.

He continued to watch as Ellie managed to calm herself somewhat.

"I…I know…what's happening. I…know…what…what we need to do…" It seemed to take all her effort just to speak that little bit, and again Jack was reminded of his own struggles.

Ellie continued to stutter out little bits, bouncing between slow careful English and quick smatterings of Ancient, nothing as concrete as her first exclamation coming forth. Janet kept trying to calm and soothe her, a hand gently rubbing up and down her back; but she just seemed to get more and more frustrated as she tried, finally shouting out two distinctly Ancient words – clear and concise. As she turned to look at Daniel pleadingly, everyone else followed suit.

"Um…writing board?" She nodded, adding another word. "Big. Big writing board…she…she wants something to write on."

Ellie gestured to him in exasperated thanks, squiggling from Janet's grasp and hopping from the bed. She quickly made her way out the room, everyone else slowly following in stunned silence.

* * *

_She's fast, I'll give her that, _Sam thought with a smile. Thankfully, Daniel had quickly followed behind the girl, having been the closest to the door. He met them in the hallway just outside his office.

"Apparently she already knew the best place for a chalkboard," Daniel smirked as Sam caught up to him. She gave him a smile back as they walked in. Sure enough Ellie was standing in front of the large chalkboard chalk in hand.

Jack walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I know I'd hate to hear it…but I can't help but ask." She looked up at him curiously. "You okay?"

Her look turned sad, as she quietly whispered in Ancient, her gaze drifting to the chalkboard. When he didn't immediately respond, she looked back at him with a small sad smile. Jack opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when Janet called his name. He patted Ellie's shoulder and pulled himself away.

As much as he wanted, he couldn't miss the desperate look she gave him as he walked away. When he turned back, she had started writing, her attention fully on the board in front of her.

"She'll be completely focused on that board 'til she finishes," Janet offered as he rejoined them. "It's like a switch gets flipped." She watched Ellie curiously, like the objective observer they remembered.

"Janet…" Sam started, hesitantly.

The doctor turned back to her friend with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm going to guess Ellie's description of herself was somewhat…lacking?" The smile grew at Sam and Jack's expressions. "She takes after both her parents a great deal."

"Well…to be fair," Sam offered, "it's been pretty…well…confusing. I just…" She looked up at Jack, unsure of whether or not to continue.

"We just want to know," he finished for her.

"It's a lot to take in, believe me," Janet said, reassuring them that she understood. "The easiest way we've come to understand it is thinking of it as a group effort. You know the saying 'it takes a village…'? In Ellie's case, it's not just in raising her. It took a huge amount of events occurring for her to even become – her."

"And what, exactly, is…she…?" Sam asked.

"She's…human. The ultimate potential of humanity. You remember Ayiana? The girl we found in Antarctica? She was proof of what humanity was, where we started. Ellie is proof that we will get there again. Just…"

"She's just way before her time."

Janet hesitated before continuing.

"Right. Like I said, she is solely a consequence of events. If even one event had not occurred, she wouldn't be here. She's basically…"

"A fluke," Jack flatly stated. He was watching Ellie, who was very much not paying attention to the board in front of her. Her hand was poised over the board, hovering in the air, her head tilted ever so slightly in their direction.

_Thought you were caught up in what you were working on, kid. You're not supposed to be able to listen to us too._

She flicked her gaze at him for a split second in response before turning back to the board. He couldn't help but give a little grin at the back of her head.

But it faded as a nagging in the back of his mind made him think he was forgetting something.

Again.

"I wouldn't put it like that, Jack," Janet scolded, shaking him from his thoughts. "She is what she is because of everything the two of you…well…them…you…have gone through. Ancient knowledge repository and all your personal knowledge passed on through residual Goa'uld implantation, plus your already present Ancient gene Jack. Then there's natural-mutation of nanite technology mixed with lingering traces of the computer virus you had Sam. That was bolstered by zat-blast effects and sarcophagus effects." She paused, letting it all sink in. "All of that, futher allowed to advance and develop due to the necessity of the time dilation field… You say fluke. I say…miracle – incredible, unbelievable, impossible miracle. I mean, for all intensive purposes, she shouldn't exist. And yet – there she is."

_This is what I was afraid of. This – right here. To put this on my own kid._

He hated thinking he had been right. But he couldn't imagine how he could manage raising someone like – no, not even that. He couldn't imagine living with himself, knowing he'd caused pain and struggle like this for his own child.

Sam came over and took his hand, squeezing it tight. He looked at her to find his own thoughts mirrored in her blue eyes. But there was something else there, something other than fear and regret.

It was almost like…relief. A sad, sorrowful relief.

But, also, a touch of pride.

Sure, they didn't choose it here. But, somewhere else, they had found the courage and strength to do it. And no matter what struggles they faced, no matter the trials and tribulations they fought through, they had her.

She was theirs. And she was pretty incredible.

"That just begs the question…" Jack spoke up, breaking the silence. "Danielle Grace?"

Janet smiled.

"Grace was your choice, Sam. You were rather insistent, just felt it suited her. As for Danielle…" She glanced over at Daniel, who was fervently trying to decode Ellie's writing. "The story I heard had you losing a bet."

"A bet?!" Jack looked between the doctor and the archaeologist, shocked. "What kind of bet?"

"You refused to talk about it. I never knew, just that that was where Danielle came from." Janet smirked, trying not to laugh at Jack's stunned expression. It got harder when Daniel looked up questioningly.

"What?"

At that, both Sam and Janet laughed. Jack looked furiously at his friend, who couldn't understand what he'd done.

"What?!"

Sam laughed, realizing how much she'd missed the familiar banter between the two men. As dramatic as the day had been, all the events coming about, she couldn't help but reminisce about "those good ole days".

She turned to Janet to say just that, but stopped when she saw the sad smile on her friend's face.

"What is it?"

Janet sighed, trying to wipe away a tear without Sam noticing.

"It's just…I never thought I'd see this again…see all of you." She laughed. "You probably thought the same thing, the last time. When me and Martouf showed up at your door."

"Yeah," Sam laughed. "Definitely a shock. But a good one." She didn't want to think of what that meant, of what happened in that other world.

Janet reached over and patted her hand.

"Definitely a good one. Just enough. I don't know what will happen, but I'll be happy to have this. I know Ellie will to."

"I'm glad she has you, Janet. I mean…well…" Sam faltered, not sure of where she meant to take that. Janet just smiled sadly.

"I remember the day she first disappeared, the day she went to the Asgard. You and Jack came back through the gate with this determined look on your faces. A look that said, no matter what, you would wait for her. You would be there when she got back." She paused, looking over at Jack and Daniel. "And you were. All of you. Even if it was for just a short time…"

They lapsed into silence; the only sounds the scratch of chalk as Ellie kept writing and the occasional flip of a page from Daniel.

"Cassie's good…" Sam quietly said. She wasn't sure if she should bring it up, but thought better of it. "Finished her pre-med, should start med school in the fall…"

"A doctor, huh?" Janet smiled. "I bet she'll be amazing."

Sam was about to agree when Mitchell came walking through the door, surveying the scene.

"Everything okay, Cam?"

"Yeah…odd blips of activity on the gate. Like someone's trying to call in but just not getting a connection. Running gate diagnostics, just to check. Nothing popping yet. Just…"

"Something else to add to today's list…" Sam finished. "We'll see what the diagnostic says."

It took them a moment to realize Ellie stood, watching them, waiting patiently.

"Better?" Jack asked from behind her.

"Finished, I suppose," Ellie replied shrugging her shoulders.

"And…?"

"And…I'm hungry." She plopped the chalk in the tray and headed for the door.

Sam grinned at Jack's perturbed look, remembering the last time they were in this predicament. She didn't think he had any room to complain.

"I'll go with her. You help Daniel." She grinned even more as he turned his look at her.


	13. Chapter 12

They sat in companionable silence while Ellie munched away on a sandwich and chips, Sam enjoying her blue jello brought specially from home.

She thought back to what Janet said; or rather, didn't say. All of them, the whole group…gone…

_How does that fit into this… What will happen with these two timelines when all is said and done?_

Her gears started turning, working out all the possibilities.

_No entropic cascade failure… But what kind of _other _fallout would there be... Must be centralized to Colorado Springs… Maybe just to SGC…_

Thoughts ran their course; working out bits and pieces to a problem she knew wasn't completely defined yet. But the gears slowed as she realized Ellie was humming quietly to herself.

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star…_

"Huh…my mom used to sing that to me."

Ellie looked up, seemingly surprised at the humming. She gave a little smile.

"Mine too."

The silence resumed as Ellie went back to her meal and Sam went back to her thoughts. She continued running through possible scenarios, putting the more thought-out ones to the side to compare. But as she mused, the song kept interrupting.

_Then the traveler in the dark, thanks you for your tiny spark…_

Her head popped up, looking curiously around her. The more she tried to avoid it, the more clearly the memory came to her.

_He could not see which way to go, if you did not twinkle so…_

Sam again looked around the quiet, empty commissary, finally coming to a stop at Ellie. The girl seemed to sense the stare and looked up from her plate.

"What?"

Sam just stared.

"General…?"

Blink. Blink.

"Sam…?"

"It was you." She didn't know why she said it. Didn't know how she'd come to the conclusion she came to. But, somehow, she was sure.

_Grace was your choice, Sam. You were rather insistent, just felt it suited her…_

Ellie looked at her quizzically.

"It was me…where?"

"On the Prometheus."

And then it was Ellie's turned to be shocked.

"On the… The gas cloud…?" When Sam just nodded, Ellie continued, "I…I thought…I thought I dreamed that…"

"You and me both!" Sam laughed. "I know how I got there. But…"

"I was bored." She tossed the chip she was holding back on her plate. "Sitting in that bubble day after day. Almost six months. Doing nothing but tinkering on things and working with the Asgard. I thought I'd figured a way out of the bubble. But it kinda…backfired. Still don't know what I did…" She paused, looking up at Sam sheepishly, like she was gonna get scolded. "I had to slow down time within the field to get out of it. But, I guess…I went too far."

"You actually managed to reverse time within a time dilation field?" Sam asked astounded.

"Don't ask me how! I honestly can't figure out what I did. And believe me I've tried! It was a…fluke…"

"And you just happened to end up on the Prometheus?"

"That's the easy part. The time dilation field was contained in an Asgard ship – parked in that gas cloud. Camouflage, if you will."

Sam nearly laughed out loud at the odd combination of the complex technology and the simple matter of "right place, right time".

"You said I was boring." Sam smiled, recalling the young girl's lack of enthusiasm.

"I'd actually heard that explanation of how a bubble worked before. I think I was two." Ellie laughed. "I really just wanted to –"

"Play. I know."

_Play. Play!_

_Interesting how something can change so much with one little extra piece of information._

The memory of that first trip on Prometheus had always stuck with Sam. But now…

"Can I ask you something?"

Sam looked up at the quiet question.

"Sure."

"How come you go by Carter instead of O'Neill?"

"Guessing that's not the same on your side?" Sam smiled. "Well, because there's already been a General O'Neill in charge of this command. And, I guess, I didn't really want to compete with that."

Ellie just laughed, before falling back to pensive thought.

"Guess we should head back, see what Daniel's got figured out," Sam said quietly. The atmosphere seemed to have chilled, the amusement fading suddenly.

"Sure…" Ellie responded reluctantly.

And as they got up from the table and moved out the door, Sam couldn't help but think she was missing something.

* * *

"Ah ha!"

Back in Daniel's office, a whirlwind of translation was apparently nearing its finale.

"Daniel…care to share?" Jack queried from behind Daniel's desk, feet propped up on the desk, chin to chest. He had been on the verge of drifting off, when Daniel shouted.

"I…I think I've got it! There were some parts that seemed almost like a mix of Ancient and English. Must be from her attempt to translate for herself, some sort of internal mix – a result of working with both languages. And then there were even some Asgard characters in there." He laughed. "That almost got me, but I realized the sentence structure, and the context of course. Overall, it seems like a mixture of what she's been told and what she's seen. It's –"

"Daniel!" Jack grumbled as he threw his feet of the desk to the floor. "What does it say?"

"Huh? Oh…um…maybe we should wait for Sam… Oh!" He paused as Sam walked into the office. "Perfect timing!"

"Hey. Miss anything?"

"Just Daniel getting excited over mixed languages. Nothing new."

"Jack! Do you realize what this is? It's a glimpse into that girl's mind! As unique as it is – the ability to mix these languages and still be completely understandable. It's…it's incredible!"

Jack was surely about to tell Daniel exactly what he thought was incredible when Sam cut in.

"What have we got?" she said, returning Daniel's grateful smile.

"Right. Well…it looks like when the Asgard said they'd run out of options, they really did think they had. This," he continued, motioning to the board, "was their final last-ditch effort. Of course, they were fairly certain they would fail, which is why they came to us and gave us all their knowledge."

"And blew themselves up," added Mitchell from a stool across the room from Daniel.

"Blew themselves up?" Martouf asked, stunned.

"Themselves and their whole planet," Mitchell nodded.

"Not exactly." Everyone looked questioningly at Daniel. "It just _looked_ that way."

"It looked pretty blown-up…"

"Well I suppose that was the point. But it was a diversion. Of sorts. The Asgard had been searching everywhere to find something that would help them fix their cloning problem, at the same time they were finding more info on the Unknown."

"Nothing like multi-tasking as your species dies out," Sam quipped.

"It seems like a lot; but, I mean, this is the Asgard we're talking about. In the end, it looks like they found the answer to their problem while searching for the Unknown. They managed to go forward in time –"

"They went to the future?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"Yeah…yes. That surprises you?" Jack just shrugged, so Daniel continued. "So they went forward and found Ellie. It appeared evident to them right off the bat that she was what they needed. Only problem was, the Unknown were out to get rid of Jack's…well…progeny." He glanced over his shoulder at his friend before continuing. "Back to current time – now they had to figure out how to a. survive long enough for Ellie to grow up and help them, and 2. make sure the Unknown didn't get rid of her before she was even born. Easiest way to do that was to go back –"

"Back in time?!"

"Jack." Daniel gave him a look and Jack just shrugged again. "Going back would save them on time, but they still had to insure the Unknown didn't catch up with them. In order to do that, they came up with a way to split the timeline." He glared at Jack to prevent any comment. "If they could just affect a decision, they could create a timeline where they could work out their issues without the Unknown finding them. At least, not immediately.

"The explosion was to power the mechanism they used to literally punch themselves into a formerly non-existent past timeline. It apparently worked. They went back, you guys had Ellie, they took her and put her in the time dilation field, aging her like they would their clones previously. They then used her altered DNA to create new and improved clones."

"And everybody lived happily ever after," Jack mumbled.

"Well…no. Forcing the timeline into existence seems to be a temporary action. The timelines are starting to collapse back together. They started a couple years ago. Janet and Martouf coming through with the rest of the multiple SG-1 teams looks like a coincidence. The wormhole through the black hole was combined with the collapsing timelines."

"That was just before Ellie was born," Janet said.

"Yeah…it looks like it started collapsing right from the start. But, small at first; getting worse as time went on. That was the first sign that it was getting bad. Ellie coming through now, with you and Martouf following…well…I think we're hitting the end of the run, so to speak."

"End of the run?" Sam asked. "If the timelines continue to collapse in on each other, there's no telling what could happen." She thought of all her possible scenarios, coupled with the new information. _Still too many possibilities._ "Factions of either, or both, could cancel out the other. Or we could have serious ECF issues, depending on the depth of differences between the lines…" She drifted off as theories continued to crop up.

"Let's not dwell, shall we. Just jump straight to the worst case scenario," Jack suggested.

"End of both timelines. Complete annihilation."

"Thanks Carter…thanks… Alright Daniel. So, what do we do?" Jack said as he walked over to peer at the board.

"Um…I don't know."

"What?"

"Well…that's it. That's all that's there."

"Um…okay…you sure?"

"Positive."

Jack turned back to look at the room. He peered at all the faces looking back at him, finally coming to Sam.

As he searched those blue eyes for some sign she knew what to do, that nagging voice in the back of his head spoke up.

_Diversion… What's a diversion?_ He thought back to when they'd first made their way into Daniel's office, the look on Ellie's face. She'd mumbled something, vaguely Ancienty. _No chance of a translation without Daniel…_

No sooner had he had the thought, the words flowed into this head. He still heard Ancient, but now he could remember what the words were…

…Only way… Have to do it… Have to leave…again…

"Carter…where's Ellie?"

"Hmm?" Sam looked around the room, suddenly surprised. "She…we left together…she was right behind me… She should be here… Jack?!"

But he was already out the door. He wasn't sure how he knew where to go, wasn't even sure he was right, but he headed to the gate room anyway.

He made it inside just as the door slammed shut behind him and the first alarm sounded.

"Unscheduled off world activation!"

She was standing at the bottom of the ramp, watching as each chevron lit up and locked, watching as the swirl of energy burst forth from the gate and then settled into the oh-so familiar puddle of blue. As it settled, she made her way up the ramp.

"Ellie! Stop." Jack rushed up to meet her, halting her with a hand on her arm. He turned her to look at him, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. "You don't have to do this."

"I do." And then she did meet his eyes. "You know I do. It's the only way it'll stop."

"No. Carter'll think of something. She's amazing with last-minute saves." Now it was his turn to avoid the gaze. The look in her eyes was too much.

Fear. Concern. Pleading…

"Jack…"

_Dad…_

"You don't have to do it." He made himself look at her.

"I do. You said it yourself. A fluke." She laughed a sad little laugh. "I'm the one odd piece. I go back, everything fits together as it should."

He stared her down, knowing she was leaving a part out.

_Even I know what's gonna happen_.

It was the one thing no one had seemed willing to mention, mostly for the sake of their newly-recovered old friends. If the timelines were to stop collapsing, it wouldn't stop the one that wasn't supposed to exist from disappearing all together.

There was no telling what would happen to those still there. Or those here already.

_If this is the proper timeline…_

He didn't want to think it, but the thought was there.

_They don't belong…_

_Damn it! Yes they do! All of em! Janet…Ellie…I'll even take Marty the Tok'ra…_

He looked back to Ellie, determined to say just that; to convince her to let them help and figure out another way.

"You…you don't know what you're going back too…" was all he managed.

She gave him that sad smile again.

"I think I do…" She reached down to take his hand, wrapping it in hers. "It's okay. Think of it this way…You can't miss someone that's never existed…" She dropped his hand and made her way to the gate.

"Ellie…wait!" He took a step towards her. She paused to turn back to him; but, for the life of him, he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Bye Jack."

And with that, she disappeared in a shimmer of blue.

No bright light.

No brilliant spectacle.

No life-altering display.

No noise other than a small _plop_.

Life carried on.

SG-3 came barreling through the gate, apparently ahead of schedule and attempting to avoid running over the former general inexplicably standing on the ramp.

As Jack watched them walk by, a rush of memories flooded his thoughts.

First steps.

First words.

First laugh.

Fishing on the dock.

The day she disappeared.

The day she came back.

He turned to look up to the control room and found Sam standing there, looking down at him through tear-soaked eyes.

And he could only think of one word.

"Liar."


	14. Epilogue

Days passed. Weeks.

The world moved on, barely touched by the events that unknowingly occurred deep under Cheyenne Mountain.

Time adjusted itself accordingly, all the pieces fitting into their appropriate places. It seemed some time was lost, and some was gained. Daniel tried to figure out some explanation – somehow the alternate timeline had been adjusting and preparing for the collapse, a twisted version of fate eliminating anything that wouldn't allow easy cohesion. He tried to get Sam engaged, working to get the science out of her. But eventually he backed off.

Her heart just wasn't in it.

As great as it was having friends returned to them, there was still a missing piece…

It didn't make sense to any of them. They could still remember losing Janet and Martouf, could still see the explosion caused by the Asgard. Obviously, their timeline was the primary, everything else extra.

The slow collapse had allowed everyone who was meant to come in, come in.

Janet Fraiser had returned from the dead – not too unusual for SGC, but enough to throw them for a temporary loop.

Martouf insisted on remaining with the SGC, after fighting by their side for so long – he felt it was his place.

Ellie…she'd come and gone. But everyone still remembered.

They remembered a time she wasn't there, and then a time she was…

The new threat of the Unknown loomed over the command, but until the Asgard proved themselves truly returned…there were other things they wanted to cope with first.

What ifs becoming real tended to take precedence over unknown Unknowns.

Teal'c came stomping through the gate, a few days after the excitement evaporated, concern emanating off of him. It seemed he had been "calling", but could not manage to connect with Earth's stargate. His concern grew when he found himself, suddenly, with memories of a young girl; one who used to play with his own grandson.

Mitchell filled him in as much as he could, Daniel assisting. The former Jaffa took it all in stride, as he always did. He asked after his other friends, but got nothing but sad shakes in response.

Jack and Sam had known there'd be questions. But at the moment, they didn't care.

It had hurt, watching her walk through that gate. Remembering the last time she'd left, they knew she had to come back. But this time…

This time seemed more final. Just without the explanation they needed.

The worst was when little Jon had asked where his friend was.

They'd all gathered at the generals' house, a celebration for returned friends.

A farewell for another.

Daniel had arrived with Vala and Jon, and the little guy bounded in calling out for her.

"Ellie! Ellie! Jon-Jack here! Come play!"

He'd stopped in the middle of the den, looking around expectantly. When she didn't pop out as expected, he looked up at Jack with curious eyes.

"Uncle Jack… Where's Ellie?"

Jack bent down to tousle his hair.

"Ellie's not here, little man. She…she had to go away."

The three year old looked back at him and just patted his leg.

"It's okay. She'll be back. She always comes back."

They'd left for the cabin the next daie.

* * *

Sam stood at the kitchen sink, rinsing the dinner dishes. She glanced out the window and wasn't surprised to find Jack out on the dock.

He'd spent most of the last week just sitting on the dock, staring out at the water. At night, his gaze would shift up to the stars, like it was tonight.

She sighed, shifting her sight back to the dishes. She knew he was hurting. But she knew him.

There weren't words. She just had to be there. Just like all she needed was him there for her.

She reached down for a glass, and found herself humming.

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star…_

She stopped – glass in one hand, soapy rag in the other.

A pale figure drifted past the window.

Sam looked over at Bongo, expecting a reaction. The lab simply lifted his head, sniffed, then laid his head back down.

That was enough for her. She smiled and turned back to the dishes, humming quietly away.

* * *

Jack sat, enjoying the soft breeze blowing off the water. His head was aimed at the stars, but his eyes were closed.

Not that it mattered. He still saw them.

_Damn stars. Nothing but trouble…_

The breeze shifted slightly.

"Was wondering how long it would take you to show up," he said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"You…were expecting me?"

He cracked one eye open to peer up at her, finding a questioning gaze staring back.

"Sure. I mean, you coulda followed ole Danny's routine – only show up when all hell's breaking loose to stand around being all-powerfully-unhelpful." He peered over at her again. "But I prefer nice, calm, peaceful visits best." He paused again, thinking it through. "Unless, of course, you've come to tell me all hell is _about_ to break loose. Then, I must warn you…I'm retired."

Ellie stood, blinking down at him, mouth agape in shock.

"You…you think I ascended?!"

"Sure" was his mumbled response. To which she returned a slap across the back of his head.

"Hey!" Jack exclaimed as he sat up in the chair, rubbing the back of his head. "What was that for?"

"For thinking that I, of all people – Jack O'Neill's daughter! – would go and ascend to a higher plane of existence!" She looked honestly insulted. "I mean, seriously?! I know we've only had a few years, but come on!"

He just sat, rubbing the back of his head.

_Daniel sitting on a bench…a shoe passing right through him…_

_Beings on a higher plane of existence can't slap you on the back of the head…_

"Not ascended."

"Most definitely not."

"Then where the hell have you been?!" he scolded, hand falling back to the chair. The look he got back faded from insulted to embarrassed.

"Um…well…hiding…?" He just glared. "I…uh…I…was trying to work something out…"

"And…?"

"It's just…I wasn't sure…I mean…I just wanted to…" she sighed. "I wanted to give you what you'd lost. Like you gave me. I honestly didn't expect to be…well…living! I thought that walking through that gate would be it. The last thing I'd ever do. Done. Nothing. Kaput. Bupkis." She threw her hands up for emphasis. "'N then I woke up, an Asgard poking my arm. Emergency beam-tech kicked in and beamed me to the closest ship."

"So the Asgard are back?"

"Hmmm? Oh…yeah…Thor says hi. They're headed to the SGC. Mom'll probably get a call in the morning."

Jack just nodded, patiently waiting for the rest of her explanation.

"And…?" he prodded when she didn't continue.

"Oh…right…well, I was here, when I didn't expect to be. It just made me want to put _everything_ right. I had my parents back… It just seemed fair to… We tried everything! I think I started to aggravate the Asgard after awhile. Nothing I could think of would work. No matter what we came up with, the need for the advanced aging was still there. The years…all those years lost… I just…I just wanted to give them back…"

She turned away from his gaze, embarrassment coloring her face again. Jack stood up and took the few steps he needed to close the distance between them, turning her around with a pull.

"Ellie," he said, hand under her chin to raise her eyes to his, "_you_ are what we lost. Not years. It doesn't matter how old you are or how far you've grown, you are you." He bent down and softly kissed her forehead. "And you're home."


End file.
